OutlawNet ponders expansion

Jo Zucker | Last updated May 06, 1997 12:0pm0

OutlawNet, the local Internet service provider based at Sisters Middle/High School, may invest in new hardware which would enable the company to expand to include a substantial number of new customers.

Leslie Bushnell, who administers OutlawNet, said the expansion would occur only if the company can c

ontinue to provide the same level of service.

She said that OutlawNet's below-10-to-1 customer-modem ratio is the best in Central Oregon, and the company enjoys a high level of customer satisfaction.

OutlawNet began operating in spring of 1996. The company is staffed and run by students and administered by faculty and adult supervisors. OutlawNet's founding purpose was to provide high school students with Internet, computer and business experience.

The private company will also provide the new middle school with access ports free of charge.

In addition to using the computers and the Internet, students put together new computers and repair broken ones. If the students work on the computer during class, there is no charge for the repair. The outside-class repair fee is $45 per hour.

Students set up new accounts, and perform customer service.

"The students take this experience out to real jobs - employers like that" said Bushnell.

And, because OutlawNet is a relatively new business, "The students experience all the pangs a business goes through when it is first starting," she said.

In addition to business experience, students apply algebra and trigonometry while solving computer problems.

OutlawNet's president and instructor, Jon Renner, said he generally begins the class with basic electronic training, and so far this year has also covered basic chemistry and physics.

Technical terms like "phase-shift," "frequency," and "bits per second" become part of an OutlawNetter's working vocabulary.

OutlawNet has met its original goal, which was to break-even financially by January of this year. Since then it has continued to grow. At a recent board meeting, members discussed whether, and to what extent, OutlawNet should develop further as a business.

Presently serving somewhere under 300 customers, OutlawNet needs new hardware and modems if it is to take the step of becoming a significantly larger outfit.

"If you grow too fast, it is hard to continue to provide a high level of service," Bushnell said. "And all decisions are based on our goal of providing learning experiences to the students."

Renner is grateful to the Sisters businesses that have supported OutlawNet.

"The success of this endeavor has been, to a large extent, due to support from the community," Renner said. "For the businesses who use our services to trust us is an act of faith and a show of support for the schools."

For more information contact Leslie Bushnell at 549-1054.